Machine for making plaster ground



Nov. 7, 1939.

' A. MARTIN n MACHINE FOR MAKING PLASTER GROUND 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 10, 1938 Nov. 7, 1939. A. MARTIN 2,179,128

MACHINE FOR MAKING PLASTER GROUND Filed June 10, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 7, 1939.

A. MARTIN 2,179,128

MACHINE FOR MAKING PLASTER GROUND Filed June l0,v 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 NOV. 7, 1939. A MARTlN 2,179.12

MACHINE FOR MAKING PLASTER GROUND yFiled June l0, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 NOV. 7, 1939. A MAR-HN 2,179,128

MACHINE FOR MAKING PLASTER GROUND Filed June lO, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheef 5 Patented Nov. 7, 1939 UNITI-:D STATES PATENT OFFICE 13 Claims.

My invention relates to composite fabricstructures and machines for making the same, and comprises reinforcement mesh for plastic material such as concrete, plaster or the like, to-

gether with a backing or form sheet of paper or the like therefor.

While the invention is herein disclosed as employed in the making of ribbed structures wherein the composite fabric is stiffened to facilitate the installation thereof and to resist trowel pressure during application of the plaster or concrete, and to provide for thickened ribs of plaster in the completed structure, various features thereof can be employed in the making of unribbed fabric structures. n

One'object of my invention is to provide means for connecting stiifening ribs to the fabric structure, without the necessity of welding the ribs in place or employing special clip wires or staples therefor.

' Another object ofV my invention is rto provide means for applying strips for connecting the backing sheet to the mesh, in such manner that the sheet is supported very firmly over extended -areas and a lighter weight paper can be employed than has been heretofore deemed necessary.

Another object of my invention is to apply said tie strips in such manner that the fabric structure asia whole will have suflicient strength even though lighter gauge reinforcingmesh is used than has heretofore been deemed necessary.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved means for applying tanged tie strips, whereby little or no difficulty will'beexperienced in causing the tangs to be projected through the paper in proper position to be bent over elements of the reinforcing mesh.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved means for snugly applying a backing i0 sheet against the rear side of a ribbed reinforcing mesh.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a plaster ground or fabric structure of generally improved form, whereby the manufacture Ai5 of the fabric is facilitated.

A further object of my invention resides inthe provision of a fabric forming machine of generally simplified and improved form.

Some of the forms which my invention may 50 take are shown in the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional View through the machine; Fig. 2 is a plan view there-` of, with some parts broken away; Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are enlarged views taken on the lines Ill-III,

55 IV-IV and iin-V, respectively, offFg. 1; Fig. 6

(Cl. 1-2) f is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing the parts ina different operative position; Figs. '7 and 8k are views taken on lines VII- VII and VIII-VIII, respectively, of Fig. 1; Figs. 9 and 10 are cross secn tional and longitudinal views, respectively, show- "-5 ing a form of reinforcing bar or rib which may be employed in the fabric structure produced by the machine of Fig. 1; Fig.`11 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a modification of a portion of the structure of Fig. 1; Figs. 12, 13 and 14 `10 vare enlarged viewstaken on the lines XII-XII,

XIII-XIII and XIV-XIV, respectively, of Fig. l1; Fig. l5 is a plan view of a portion of the iinished fabric formed on the machine of Fig. 11; Fig. 16 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional '15 view'on an enlarged scale, showing another modification of the apparatus of Fig. 1; Fig. 17 is a similar view showing still another modication, and Fig. 18 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view of the structure of Fig. 17. "20

Generally, the -fabric structure comprises a metallic reinforcement, stiffening ribs therefor, a backing sheet and tanged tie strips by means of which the fabricelements are held in assembled relation. The fabric assembly produced by the 52'5 f machine disclosed inA Figs. 1 to 8, comprises a reinforcement here shown: as a wire mesh having strand wires 8 to which are welded cross or stayv Wires 9. It will be understood that other forms of mesh such as expanded metal or woven or twisted 30 'mesh could be employed. The fabricstructure includes also a series of laterally spaced rein-y forcing metallic ribs I0 which may bev formed of .sheet metal, a backing or form sheet ll and tie strips I2, which have tangs I3 that are projected j35 through the paper and bent over certain ofthe mesh wires to hold the sheet, the mesh, the ribs ID and the backing sheet I l in assembled relation. All of the foregOng elements are drawn from suitable sources of supply such yasreels, and are 40 continuously advanced, the tangs` I3 being projected through the paper and bent during such advancing movement. t

The stiffening or rib members 'Ill are each formed from ribbon-like strips of metal, theI bending from'flat to V form being effected by pairs of rollers I6 and II, the rollers il being provided with peripheral grooves of V form 4and their respectivel cooperating rollers I6 having peripheral ribs of V form. The ribs are only partially bent at this point. Additional forming rolls I8 and I9 are provided, which respectively have Vv ribs and grooves to give the strips their nal contour. With light metal one pair 4of V forming rolls will be suiiicient for each strip. The rollers 554 I6, I1, I 8 and I9 are secured to shafts which are journalled in the framework of the machin-e. The shafts for the rollers I5 and I8 are supported in vertically adjustable or movable bearings 2| and 22 respectively, Which are held down to a desired point or with a desired degree of pressure by screws 23 and 24.

The shafts for the rollers I 8 and I9 carry intermeshing gears 25 and 28, the shaft on which the gear 2E is mounted having a bevel gear wheel 21 that is driven from a bevel gear wheel 28 whose shaft 29 is driven through bevel gearing 3i] from a shaft 3i. gearing 32 from a shaft 33. The shaft 33 carries a sprocket 34 that is driven by a chain 35 from a sprocket wheel 36, that is in turn driven from speed-reducing mechanism 31 which has driving connection with a motor 38.

The mesh is drawn past guide rolls 39 which are positioned above the bending rolls I6, I1, I8 and I9 and beneath a guide roller 49 which brings it into parallelism with the stiffening strips I9. The backing sheet II is drawn past tensioning and guide rolls 4I and above a grooved presser roll 42 that extends the width ofthe machine and has peripheral grooves 43 which match with the ribs I and press the paper snugly against the mesh, as shown more clearly in Fig. 3. Thus, the stiifening ribs I9 with the mesh 8-9 at one side of the plane of travel thereof and the backing sheet II at the other side are continuously moved forward. During such traveling movement they are permanently attached by the tie strips I2. Y

The tie strips I 2-one for each longitudinal rib I9-of the form shown more clearly by full lines in Fig. 4, are formed of longitudinallyextending wires 44 to which are welded cross Wires 45. These strips may suitably be formed by cutting or slitting sheets of welded mesh.

The tie strips I2 are drawn past guide rollersv 45 and past tang-bending mechanisms each having an anvil member 41 and a bending member 48. The bending member 48 has legs 49 which are pressed into engagement with the projecting ends of the cross wires 45 to bend them from the full line positions of Fig. 4 to the dotted line positions, thereby forming the tangs'I3. The member 48 is periodically projected toward its anvil 41 by a cam 59 which operates against a cam roller 5I. A spring 52 interposed between the member 43 and a stationary guide block 53 serves to maintain the roller normally against the face of the cam 59. As shown more clearly in Fig. 1, the bending members 48 are inclined with relation to the plane of the tie strips, so that when they are projected forwardly during travel of the strips, the tangs I3 will be slightly inclined in a forward direction, and when the strips are brought into parallelism with the sheet and the mesh, the extremities of the tangs will be slightly in advance of the stay wires 9 and, therefore, there will be less danger of the tangs being projected directly against the, stays or behind the same. 'Ihe cams 59 are mounted on a cross shaft 54 which has bevel gear connection at 55 with the shaft 3I.

The spacing of the tangs I3 longitudinally of the tie strips is a multiple of the spacing of the stay wires 9, so that each set of tangs will be in position to be bent backwardly over stay wires by means to be hereinafter described. By canting or inclining the tangs I3 slightly forward, they will be projected through the paper in advance of adjacent stay Wires 9. The tie strips The shaft 3| is driven through bevel riodically moved upwardly. to push the tangs through the backing sheet and the mesh and to bend the cross wires`45 of the tie strips from the position shown in Fig. 5 to that shown in Fig. 6, thereby bringing the longitudinal wires 4'4 into position to snugly maintain the backing sheet against the stiifening bars I9 and the mesh. 'Ille yokes 59 are oscillated vertically by links 3| which carry a cam roller 62 that bears against cams 63, which are mounted on the shaft 54.

' rl'he lower ends of the links 6I are bifurcated to form legs which straddle the shaft 54 and serve as guides for the links.

Substantially opposite the presser heads 60 is a roller 85 which maintains the mesh and the paper against deflection upwardly when the presser heads are pushing the tangs through the sheet.

After the tangs are pushed through the sheet, they pass toothed discs or wheels 68 which are secured to a shaft 51 that is drivenat a high rate I of speed from a motor 58, `in a clockwise direction, so that the teeth of the wheel 65 will bend the upper ends of the tangs back across the adjacent stay wires 9. Back-up rollers 69 mounted on a shaft 19 support the tie strips against deflection under the impacts of the toothed wheels 63. When the tangs have been initially bent by the toothed wheels t3, they pass beneath bending discs 1I Which have semi-circular recesses in their peripheries, positioned to engage the partially bent tangs and clench them around the stay wires 9. The discs 1I are secured to a shaft 12, which carries a gear wheel 13, that meshes with a gear wheel 14 which in turn meshes with a pinion 15 that is mounted on the shaft 33. Forwardly of the shaft 12 is a second shaft 16 which carries a gea-r 11 which meshes With .the gear wheel 14. The shafts 12 and 16 are provided with sprocket-like wheels A18 and 19 which are arranged to engage the cross wires 9 ofthe mesh and assist to advance the fabric structure through the machine. The driving members 18 have ytheir teeth circumferentially offset with respect to the teeth of the sprockets '19, so that when the fabric is being drawn by one series of sprocket wheels, the other series is moving toward driving engagement with cross wires and will have 'full driving'engagement therewith at the time the first-mentioned series is passing out of engagementwith a preceding cross wire. Supporting rollers 89 are provided beneath the'bending discs 1I to support the tang strip and the fabric against deflection under the bending pressure, and idling rollers 8| similarly hold the mesh against the discs 19.

The bending of the tie strips to the positions shown in Figs. 6 to 8 causes them to firmly connect the stiffening ribs I9 to the mesh and, as heretofore stated, the longitudinal members 44 of the tie strips hold the paper snugly in position and in effect formcontinuous supports for the paper throughout the full length of the fabric structure. The paper is not only supported ina taut condition, but also is supported against tearingthrough the pressurel imposed thereon when applying the plaster to the mesh.

shifting in a longitudinal direction. It will be understood that stiffening ribs of other cross-sectional forms than the V-form shown herein could be employed, and that the assembled fabric structure as it comes from the machinewill be cut into suitable lengths.

In this form of fabric structure, extremely light gauge wire mesh or netting and a light weight paper backing can be employed, since the ribs I are not welded to the mesh but are connected thereto by the back-up tie strips. Thus, the amount of metal and the weight of a given unit of fabric can be materially lessened without sacrifice of reinforcing strength, thereby reducing considerably the cost of the fabric.

Referring now to Figs. 11 to 14, I show a structure wherein the mesh 82, the stiifening ribs 83, the backing sheet B4 and the tie strips B5 are drawn from suitable sources of supply as in the structure of Fig. 1. In this form of apparatus the said fabric members are advanced in substantially the same manner as in the other form,

and the tangs 86 are formed and bent in the same manner. However, in this form of structure, the tang strips 85 are positioned between the stiffening ribs 83 instead of having embracing relationship therewith.

As the backing sheet 84 approaches the plane of the mesh 82, it passes overa roll 8l that has peripheral grooves opposite the ribs 83, and the f intermediate ungrooved portions 88 of the roll `deflect the paper upwardly between .the stiffening ribs 83, as shown more clearly in Fig. 12. When the sheet has passed the roller 81, 'it is engaged by the tangs 86 which move over a guide roller or sheave 89 and along an inclined guide plate 90. During this travel of the tie strips, the tangs are forced through the sheet into position 'to be bent backwardly by the toothed Wheels 9| and clenched by the discs S2, which members correspond to the members 56 and il of Fig. l. Also, the longitudinally-extending strand wires 93 of the tie strips are rrnly pressed against the paper just previous to the bending of the tangs and, therefore, force the paper upwardly into engagement with the under side of the mesh, as shown in Fig. 13, thus placing the paper under tension. lThe ribs are thereby snugly held in position against the rear side of the mesh by the paper which is thus held in a taut condition.

As shown more clearly in Figs. 14 and 15, the ribs 93 are coniined between adjacent tie strips S5 and held against the mesh 82 by the backing sheet Sil, the longitudinally-extending wires 93 of the tie strips being disposed in proximity to the edges of ythe ribs 83 and forming continuous supports 'for the sheet 84 throughout' the `full' length of the fabric. When plastic material is applied to the fabricthe transverse `members 94 of the tie strips backup and'support the sheet Sii against excessive deflection.

As shown more clearly in Fig..16,v mesh ila-9a, the ribs ld and the backing sheet Ha may be brought into parallelism substantially in the same manner as shown in Fig. 1. But in this instance the tangs Sciare projected throughthe paper and the mesh behind the stay wires'9a instead of in front of them, and neednot be caritcd for .forwardly inclined... v.The notched the tangs forwardly.

-wheels 66a, which correspond to thel notched wheels 66, are, however, driven rapidly in a counter-clockwise direction, that is,.they operate in the direction of travel ofthe fabric,'!t0 bend The forwardly bent tangs Vare clenched yby a bending die 98 which is in the form off a` bar that extends transversely of the machine and :is notched on its underside. The ends of the bar 98 have. trunnion-like extensionsv 99 .which are pivotally supported in rocker arms |09, at each side of the machine. The arms lull at their forlward ends are pivotally supported ona shaftf'la. The rear ends of the arms Ill are pivotally connected to links mi, the lower end off the llinks being pivotally connected to levers H12, whose forward ends are pivotally supported at ID3 in the frameworlrof the machine. f

Cam wheels 94 are secured to a shaft |05 and have camming surfaces that engage a cam shoulder 196 on the levers m2, to periodically raise said levers and the rocker arms 196i. As the camming surfaces on the cams 94 pass fromlb'e'- heath the shoulders i955, a` spring |01- will move the arms 99 and the bending die 98, thereby bringing it down with a snap movement to cle'nch the tangs Ia. A back-up roller |08 supports the tang strips and the fabric during this clenching operation, it being understood that the fabric is continuously moving during the said operations. 'Ihe pivotal mounting of the bendingl die at 99 permits it to rock and its lower side to have slight advancing movementfwith the fabric. A spring H39 which is connected to the upper edge of the die 98 and to a lug' on one ofthe rocker arms 199, serves to return the bending die to its initial position `after each roclring movement. The said forward movement ofthe bending die results from lits engagement with the tangs andthe die will be returned'to its initial position as soon as a clenched tang-has passed out of engagement therewith, this separation occurring at some point during the arcuate path of movement of the die.' It willbe understood that simultaneously with the forward rocking movement of the die, the cam |94-will begin to raise the die to assist lin clearing it from the clenched tangs and to position-itfor impacting movement against the succeeding tangs under the snap action of the springs |01. lThe fabric is advanced bydiscs 18a, ,whichfcorrespond to the discs i8, and discs "Ha, can be'Provided for additionally olenching' the'tangs.' f

The shaft 95 carries a gear wheel Hwhich driven by a gear wheel iii that meshes-With a gearwheel Ma, which corresponds to the gearA wheel 'M of Fig. 1. v

In Figs. 17 and 18 I show an` arrangement whereby the tangs are bent over the longitudinally-extending mesh wires insteadlof over the transverse or stay wires, by bending or clenching elements that rotate on axes parallel to the path of travel of the fabric. In this form of apparaf tus, the mesh, the backing sheet and the tang strips are brought intoparallelism, with the tangs projecting through the paper andthe mesh in a suitable manner, as for example, by apparatus such as shown in Figs. 1 and 11. vThe tie strips H5 are disposed against the rear side ofthe backing sheet H6 and between adjacent stiften-v ing ribs or channels Hl, somewhat as in Figs. 11 and 13, but in this form the prongs or tangs I|8 of each tie strip are disposed in closel pro'ximity to'strand wires I I9 of the reinforcing imesh; The tie strips may be cut-from sheets 'offE welded mesh whose members have the same spacing as ill@ the reinforcement mesh, the tie strips being lcngitudinally oiset slightly with respect to the reinforcement mesh, so that the tangs i8 will extend between the stay wires |29 of the reinforcement mesh. The stiffening bars may simply be held in place by the backing sheet H6 that is tensioned by the tie strips, particularly if heavy paper is employed, or it may be embraced by and attached to the reinforcement mesh by the tie strip 0r held against longitudinal shifting by notching the edges thereof as in the case of the stiiening bars of Figs. 9 and 10.

Two series of bending elements are provided, one for bending tangs at one edge of each tie strip in one direction, over a strand wire l i9, and the other series for bending the other tangs in the opposite direction about an adjacent strand wire, as indicated in Fig. 18. The bending elements are in the form of toothed wheels, one set of these Wheels |2| being mounted on short shafts journalled in a cross bar 22 that extends transversely of and is secured to the framework of the machine. The shafts for the toothed wheels |2| are each provided with a bevel gear` wheel |23 that meshes with a gear wheel |24 that is secured to a shaft |25 journalled in brackets carried by the bar |22. The shaft |25 may be driven by a separate motor, as in the case of the. shaft 61. The wheels |2| will be rotated quite rapidly to bend the tangs during advancing movement of the mesh. The series of toothed bending Wheels |26 which bend tangs in a direction opposite to that in which the wheels |2| bend them, is mounted and driven in the same manner as the wheels |2|, but is rotated in a direction opposite to that in which wheels |2| are driven. Back-up or suppo-rting rollers 21 are provided for supporting the fabric against deflection during said tang bending operations.

The tangs are more completely bent or clenched around the strands ||9 by grooved rolls |28, the grooves being of approximately semi-circular form and, therefore, serving to bend the tangs into closely embracing engagement with the strand wires as the fabric passes between the rolls |28 and a supporting roller |29. Sprocket-like Wheels |30 are secured to the shaft |3| which carries the bending rolls |28, the wheels |38 being notched at intervals for driving engagement with the stay wires |20 to effect advancement of the fabric through the machine. The shaft |3| corresponds t0 and is driven in a manner similar to the shaft 12 of Fig. 1.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have provided a fabric structure of such form that a light weight paper can be employed successfully since it will be supported over extended areas by the tierstrips. Also, not only can a reinforcement mesh composed of a smaller or lighter gauge wire or light weight expanded metal be employed than has heretofore been deemed practical, but inexpensive types of wire screening or netting of coarse mesh, such as chicken Wire netting can be used satisfactorily, since the stiifening ribs may be formed from a heavier ribbon or else the number of lighter ribs for a given width of fabric may be increased. In either event, the total amount of metal incorporated in the fabric will be materially lessened while the structure as a whole will have sucient strength where a light weight composite fabric is desired. Since it is not necessary to weld the ribs to the fabric reinforcement, danger of burningV light `gauge .reinforcement is eliminated and the rate of fabrication correspondingly increased. The lighter weight paper referred to may be in the neighborhood of 60 lb. or 80 lb. paper, While the heavier paper may suitably be from 120 lb. to 200 lb.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with means for impartingl Y advancing movement to reinforcement mesh and a backing sheet, together with longitudinally-extending ribs disposed between the mesh and the sheet, of apparatus for connecting the sheet to the mesh, comprising means for deflecting the sheet and pressing it against the mesh, at points between the ribs, means for applying to the rear side of the sheet tie strips having longitudinallyextendingk strands and perpendicularly-extending tang elements, with the said strand elements disposed in proximity to the sides of the ribs and against the deflected portions of the sheet, with the tang elements projecting through the sheet and the mesh, and meansvfor bending the tang elements across certain of the mesh elements.

2. The combination with means for imparting advancing movement toreinforcement mesh and a backing sheet, together with longitudina1ly-ex tending ribs disposed between the mesh and the sheet, of apparatus for connecting the sheet to the mesh, comprising means for deflecting the sheet and pressing it against the mesh, at points between the ribs, means for applying to the rear side of the sheet tie strips each having a pair of longitudinally-extending strands and perpendicularly-extending tang elements, with the said strand elements disposed in proximity to the sides of the ribs and against the deflected portions of the sheet, with the tang elements projecting through the sheet and the mesh, and means for bending the tang elements across certain of the mesh elements.

3. The combination with means for imparting advancing movement to reinforcement mesh and a backing sheet, together with longitudinally-extending ribs disposed between the mesh and the sheet, of apparatus for connecting the sheet to the mesh, comprising means for deecting the sheet and pressing it against the mesh at points between the ribs, means for applying to the rear side of the depressed portions of the sheet tie strips each having a pair of longitudinally-extending strands connected by tang elements which extend perpendicularly to the strip, with the tang elements projecting through the sheet and the mesh, and means for bending the tang elements across certain of the mesh elements.

4. The combination with means for imparting advancing movement to reinforcement mesh and a backing sheet, together with longitudinallyextending ribs disposed between the mesh and the sheet, of apparatus for connecting the sheet to the mesh, comprising means for deflecting the sheet and pressing it against the mesh at points between the ribs, means for applying longitudinally-extending tie strips against the rear side of the sheet along lines adjacent to the angles formed between the ribs and the mesh, and means for connecting said strips to the mesh.

5. The combination With means for imparting advancing movement to reinforcement mesh and a backing sheet, of means for striking up tang elements from a tie strip in a direction forwardly inclined relative to the longitudinal axis of the strip, means for forcing the tang elements through the sheet and the mesh at points immediately in front of mesh elements that extend crosswise of the path of advancing movement, and means for bending said tang elements backwardly over said mesh elements.

6. The combination with means for imparting advancing movement to reinforcement mesh and a backing sheet, of means for applying a tanged tie strip to the rear side of the sheet and forcing its tangs through the sheet and the mesh, elements rotatable on axes parallel to the path of advancing movement, for bending the tangs sidewise over certain mesh elements during advancing movement of the mesh and the sheet, and means for thereafter clenching the tang elements during said advancing movement.

7. The combination with means for imparting advancing movement to reinforcement mesh and a backing sheet, of means for applying a tanged tie strip to the rear side of the sheet and forcing its tangs through the sheet and the mesh, elements rotatable on axes parallel to the path of advancing movement, for bending certain of said tangs sidewise in one direction overthe mesh, and other elements rotatable on axes parallel to the path of advancing movement, for bending other tangs sidewise in the opposite direction over the mesh.

8. The combination with means for imparting advancing movement to reinforcement mesh and a backing sheet, together with longitudinallyextending ribs disposed between the mesh and the sheet, of means for connecting the sheet to the mesh, comprising means for advancing a tie strip composed of longitudinally-extending strand members carrying transversely-extending stay members Whose ends project laterally from the strand members, means for bending said projecting ends in a direction generally perpendicular to the plane of the strip, to form tangs, means for forcing said tangs through the paper and the mesh, and means for bending the said tangs across certain of the mesh elements.

9. The combination with means for imparting advancing movement to reinforcement mesh, a backing sheet and longitudinally-extending stiffening members disposed between the mesh and the sheet, and spaced apart in lateral directions, of means for applying tie strips to the rear side of the sheet in underlying relation to the said stiiening members, said tie strips having tang elements along each edge thereof; means for bending the tie strips about their longitudinal axes, to partially embrace the stiifening members and for projecting the tangs through said sheet, and said mesh, and means for bending the projected tangs into parallelism with the plane of the mesh.

10. The combination with means for imparting advancing movement to reinforcement mesh, a

backing sheet and longitudinally-extending stiffening members disposed between the mesh and the sheet and spaced apart in lateral directions, of means for deflecting the sheet toward the mesh at points between adjacent stiffening members, means for applying longitudinally-extending tie strips to the rear side of the sheet, in underlying relation to the said stiffening members, and means for connecting said tie strips to the mesh.

1l. The combination with means for imparting advancing movement to reinforcement mesh, a backing sheet and longitudinally-extending stiffenng members disposed between the mesh and the sheet and spaced apart in lateral directions, of means for deflecting the sheet toward the mesh at points between adjacent stiffening members, means for applying longitudinally-extending supporting members against the rear side of the deflected portion of the sheet in proximity to the sides of the stiffening members, and means for connecting said supporting members to the mesh.

l2. The combination.. with means for imparting advancing movement to reinforcement mesh, a backing sheet and longitudinally-extending stiffening ribs disposed between the mesh and the sheet, and spaced apart in lateral directions, of means for deflecting the sheet toward the mesh along lines disposed in proximity to the edges ofv the ribs, means for applying tie strips having perpendicular tang elements along each edge thereof, against the rear side or" the sheet, with the tang elements projecting through the sheet in proximity to the edges of the ribs, and means for bending said tang elements into parallelism with the plane of the mesh.

13. The combination with means for imparting advancing movement to a reinforcement mesh having ribs extending longitudinally thereof and to a backing sheet disposed against the ribs, of

means for simultaneously advancing tie strips, each composed of longitudinallyand transversevly-extending wires, with the ends of the trans- ARCHWORTI-I MARTIN. 

